1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a content distribution system and a content distribution method and, more particularly, to a content distribution system and a content distribution method that are capable of efficiently distributing content.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, along with the drastic increase in the speeds and storage capacities of the Internet and personal computers (PCs), the distribution of digital content, such as music data and video data for example, is widely practiced through networks. The content distributed from a content distribution server via networks is recorded or reproduced on a communication terminal, such as a PC, or transferred to another communication terminal, such as a portable communication terminal, to be recorded or reproduced (refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2005-25922 for example).
With the recent popularization of portable reproduction devices having wireless communication capabilities and a recording block such as hard disc drives, the distribution of digital content has come to practical use based on a network of P2P (Peer To Peer) type in which all computers in every computers in the network equally plays a role of both sever and client. In the P2P content distribution, a receiver terminal that receives the distribution of content also has a function of a sender terminal, so that music data and video data for example can be distributed more efficiently than distributing content in bulk from a particular distribution server. Also, because no particular server is arranged in the P2P configuration, the access concentration on that server can be avoided, thereby mitigating the server load.